A Little Too Sharp
by Hypertown
Summary: Jessica just did something very bad, is that anyway to talk to Gotham's future mass murdering marauder?
1. Chapter 1

If there was one thing Jessica Moore was certain of, it was that she loved high school. Not necessarily with the burning ferocity of a thousand suns, but with a quiet adoration. She was blessed to have never been bullied or even teased in her short, privileged life, to have never shied away from a crowd or known the fear of the coming school day. She had a promising social life and a large group of friends. To say she was living the adolescent dream wouldn't have been too far off base. There was one thing however, that she absolutely despised, English. Not the language mind you, but the class. Her short stories were atrocious, poetry dreadful and grammar left something to be desired. With every fibre of her being she hated the mandatory class, that and the boy beside her.

This boy was quiet and studious, head always ducked and hand perpetually scrawling cramped notes. It wasn't that he'd ever done anything to her, actually quite the opposite. He had appeared on the first day of class and had not yet uttered so much as a 'hello'. He was an enigma alright, painfully attractive yet too intimidating to approach. Contempt radiated off him in waves and Jessica got the feeling that he wasn't particularly fond of anything or anyone. He was silent and sullen, with deep dark circles sitting beneath his eyes. Jessica hated this boy, Jack, especially in this moment.

"Jack?" She said quietly, testing the waters and praying that was his name.

He glanced up, surprise written across his lovely features.

"Could I borrow a pencil? Mine is all out of lead." She nodded towards her worn mechanical pencil, sitting upon her desk. The boy hesitated before turning back to the front of the class. Jessica hesitated for a moment, confusion and uncertainty left her flustered.

"Hello? Can I? You have like three pencil sitting right there!"

"Jessica! Am I interrupting your conversation with Mr. Napier?" Mr. Howards barked. Jessica blanched, all eyes were turned on her and for the first time she didn't exactly appreciate it.

"No sir, I was asking Jack to borrow a-"

"Ah so not only do you find it appropriate to interrupt my class but you also come unprepared?" Horror and mortification bloomed in the pit of her stomach, her face now puce. Before she could sputter an apology Mr. Howards raised his hand and silenced her.

"Grab a pen from my desk and if you interrupt my class anymore we'll have a chat after school."

Jessica nodded hurriedly and practically ran to his desk at the front of the room, shaking her hair over her face to hide her flaming cheeks. Once she was seated in her desk she risked a glance at the boy beside her, who sat smirking smugly. Her hands trembled with rage as she wrote out shaky notes for the remaining hour, mulling over the best possible ways to murder Jack Napier. Once the douche bag formerly known as Howard sat at his oak desk Jessica turned her focus to Mr. Napier.

"You're a fucking asshole." She spat in a hushed whisper, her eyes steadfast on the open binder in her lap. The infuriating boy turned to her in shock.

"You could have just lent me a pencil you prick, and then you just sat there fucking smiling. What is wrong with you?" This time she turned towards him, words still hushed as ever.

Jack's head was lowered, eye brows raised in disbelief. A sly smirk began to ooze across his face. She was unsure how she'd ever thought he was even somewhat handsome, the quivering anger and indignation twisting his features into a gruesome leer.

"I'm sorry Jessica." She sat back, startled at having heard him speak for the first time. No, he wasn't allowed to just be sorry. He had to pay for making her look like an idiot in front of all her peers. He had to grovel at her feet and give her a fucking pencil when she asked for it. She was Jessica fucking Moore and no snot nosed little snit could do that to her.

"Shut up, no you aren't! You have no idea what you've done; I could get someone to beat the crap out of you in a second. Do you realize that?" Her voice was steadily getting louder and shriller. She bit down on the soft flesh of her inner cheek to keep from yelling.

"Jessica I'm sorry." He was grinning now, apparently revelling in her fury. She had never been talked to this way and had absolutely no idea how to handle the anger building in her belly. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she snapped it closed, refusing to even acknowledge the idiot to her left. She slammed her binder closed and fixed her purse on her shoulder. A second later the bell rang and she leapt to her feet. She was already striding towards the door before she turned around, headed back towards the chuckling boy and kicked at his notebook lying at his feet. It shot halfway across the class room and she shot him a smug little smile before spinning on her heel and storming from the room, elbowing her way through the hallway congestion.

Later that night as she lay in her bed her brain wouldn't stop replaying the scene, digesting every little expression that graced his face and pondering over her actions. She felt embarrassed for how she'd behaved, lashing out like that. Of course he'd been rude and had provoked her into an all-out rage attack, but it had been her fault. She was the one who chose to make herself look like a volatile psycho. Oh god and had she threatened to get someone to beat him up? Was she still in elementary school? She groaned into her pillow before punching her headboard. She recoiled her throbbing hand in horror. This was exactly the kind of overreactions that got her into these kinds of situations. No matter, she thought resolutely, tomorrow she would apologize and prove that she, Jessica fucking Moore, was indeed more mature and humble than Jack Napier


	2. Chapter 2

It was hot, as usual. Jessica kicked off her sandals and began to fan her flushed chest with a half finished sheet of homework. "Why can't we sit in your car again?" She turned towards the petite girl to her left.

"I'm running low on gas so if you want to give me thirty bucks to fill up after the air conditioning runs for fifteen minutes then be my guest." Nicole snapped, pulling her hair off her damp neck. Jessica sighed and cupped her chin in her palm, trading looks with the statuesque brunette lounging across from her. Ever since the girls had been spending lunch sitting in Nicole's truck bed, the tiny Japanese beauty had developed a severe case of 'stick stuck up ass'.

"Oh there are the boys!" Lisa hopped onto her bare feet and waved frantically at the distracted group of boys wandering in the other direction. They caught sight of either her flailing limbs or platinum mane and came bustling towards them. Jessica's head jerked up at the exclamation to her right but her eyes found a completely different male.

He sat on the other side of the parking lot fence, back straining against the thin criss crossing metal links. She knew immediately who it was despite his face being turned away, it was the ratty red hoodie he wore every day that gave him away. His head slowly pushed back against the mesh supporting him, he appeared to be looking up at the tree above.

"What are ya staring at Jess?" Her head jerked to the side in alarm. Connor stood before her, hand cupped over his eyes, squinting towards the lone boy. "Is that Jack?" He guffawed turning back to her, grinning widely.

"Jack? Jack who?" Cassandra pursed her lips, staring hard in the wrong direction, apparently peering at the gym doors.

"Jack Napier, the biggest skid in the damn school. Wow what a loser." Connor's snorts evolved into belly laughs as he braced himself on Jessica's knees. She jerked them away and he fell against the hot, hard plastic of the truck bed. "Awe Jess don't be like that, I should be the one offended that you have your eyes on another guy." He repositioned himself against her shin and grinned up at her, his hands sought hers and she grudgingly accepted. Their 'flirtation ship' had been ongoing for weeks and she was beginning to tire of his constant foot-in-mouth syndrome, especially regarding this most recent tilt in conversation.

"He sits by me in physics and smells like shit." Drew stated matter of factly, glancing at Lisa out of the corner of his eye as she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I doubt he ever showers I mean look at how greasy he is." Cole added, hopping up into the car bed. The truck let out an almost imperceptible groan and Nicole shot him a glare.

"Where are all the other girls?" Jessica would have been grateful for Drew's change of topic if it hadn't been just to make Lisa jealous, as if by clockwork her face tightened as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Melissa and Leah are at volley ball tryouts and Caitlyn and Alex are skipping the afternoon to go to the mall." Nicole ticked off the offended on her fingers as she named them. They did have an unusually large group of female friends, most other girls in the school could only stand to be around a small number of the same gender. Jessica summed this up to a certain level of immaturity, the constant paranoia of "competition". Although she might be a little threatened by Nicole if she didn't already have a boyfriend that attended a different high school.

"I feel bad." She sighed aloud. All heads turned to her in puzzlement. "About what?" Lisa asked.

"Yesterday, I yelled at Jack in English for not lending me a pencil." She admitted grudgingly, picking at her well-worn denim shorts.

Everyone began to laugh. "Oh my god Jessica you're such a brat." Her mouth fell open.

"Shut up! I am not!" But even as the words slipped out she began to laugh, realizing the absurdity of the situation. "Whatever," Lisa said darkly. "It's probably better that he didn't give you one, he probably would have made you give a blood sacrifice or something."

"Yeah," Nicole nodded sagely. "I bet you he's like a serial killer or something. I mean one time I bumped into him in the hall and he gave me the creepiest look. It was like he wanted to rape me or something."

"Guard your carnal treasure!" Jessica exclaimed, grinning broadly. The boys snorted as Nicole blushed and slapped at her friend's knees.

Jessica looked back up, searching for the faded scarlet sweater against the fence while her friends were distracted. Her eyes scanned the sea of green for his form but found nothing. She turned back to Connor, accepting his invitation to come over after school.

English was awkward to say the least. Jessica sat with her head bowed, taking careful notes with a freshly sharpened pencil till Mr. Howards decided to end the torture and make calls at his desk for the remainder of the lecture. Jack pulled out a chemistry textbook and hunched over it, completely consumed. Jessica chewed the end of her pencil nervously, already feeling red in the face. "Jack I'm sorry I yelled at you." she said in a rush.

He paused for an excruciatingly long time, head perked in her direction. She was starting to think he was just going to accept her apology in silence and she had to remind herself not to get flustered. "Pardon?" He intoned, turning to face her.

"I'm sorry that I yelled at you yesterday." she repeated, slightly louder. "Pardon?" He taunted, his mouth twisted into a smirk.

Jessica ground her teeth noisily, focused on taking the high road, being the bigger person, Zen mantra all that crap. "I said that I'm sorry for yelling at you." She enunciated slowly, daring him to piss her off again.

"Jessica I have no idea what you're saying, if you want to say something to me then speak clearly please." Before she had any clue what was happening her binder was in her hands and falling on his shoulder in purposeful blows. She dropped the offensive plastic into her lap and clapped her hands over her mouth. Jack sat in shock.

"I'm so sorry." She mumbled between closely knit fingers. He turned to her, annoyance clear on his features.

"Did you just hit me?" He stated, slowly and clearly.

"No no, I mean well yes...but you made me!" She was totally panicked, fears of blood sacrifice and serial killer-ness running rampant. She wouldn't have even fluttered a lash at the thought of yelling at anyone else in the entire class, but Jack was different. Something about him was pretty friggen terrifying when it reared its ugly head, as it was doing now.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry, here take this granola bar." She shakily extracted a cranberry nut bar from the depths of her purse and slid it across his desk. He looked slightly appalled. "Are you trying to bribe me...with food?"

"No I just-" Oh god would this awkwardness ever end, she hadn't meant to offend him. "It's just a peace offering!"

He paused for a moment, examining the package before him with an air of trepidation. He picked it up and un-wrapped the thin white foil before breaking off a piece and chewing it slowly. He gave her a dismissive nod before turning back to his text book. They didn't exchange another word the rest of the period but as he crumpled the noisy packaging into a ball with his fist, Jessica felt a misplaced flood of relief. His eyes caught hers for a moment when the bell rung as she hurried off, blushing for god knows what reason.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey guys! I just wanted to say thank you so muh for the reviews so far, they are lovely and totally inspirational. Also there's a bit of spoiler in this chapter pertaining to 'Brave New World' a novel written by Aldous Huxley. Enjoy!**

Days passed quickly as their relationship evolved; eventually they were able to have comfortable (although somewhat short) conversations without erupting into a full blown argument. Jessica wondered if he only tolerated her because he didn't seem to have any other person in the large class to talk to. She realized she had misjudged him though when he caught her copying answers from his test and moved his arm to clear her view. Their friendship was a definite plus for Jessica, her marks had never been better thanks to his tendency to turn the other way when she scribbled down answers for the previous night's assignment. She wondered though what he benefitted from their symbiotic friendship seeing as she wasn't particularly smart or kind. In fact after the bludgeoning with her binder just weeks ago, she had no idea why he even spoke to her.

Occasionally, when the lesson was especially tortuous, she would ponder Jack Napier. He was quiet and studious, yet not from lack of confidence. Oh no, Jessica was all too certain he suffered no lack of self-assuredness, in fact he almost seemed arrogant. It was as if he considered the school and its inhabitants far beneath him which it probably was. He had the magic combination of beauty and intelligence, she was sure he would excel in all future endeavors. During these hours spent secretly watching him from the corner of her eye she began to notice little things. His nails were always perfect, oval shaped and clean. His shoulders were broad and strong despite his tendency to hunch over whatever book was placed in front of him. How his eye brows arched almost perfectly, his straight nose, and- oh god he'd caught her staring. At this point she would typically pretend he'd had some food stuck between his teeth or something of the like, but today was different.

"Yes?" He asked, raising a 'perfectly arched' eyebrow. Jessica bit down on her lip, glancing towards the closed novel on her desk.

"I'm really confused," She began, reaching for the book and the sheet of questions assigned that class. "Question seven asks what John represents, and then his character type. What does that mean?" The class had been studying 'Brave New World' By Aldous Huxley for the past week and she had found it incredibly draining.

Jack glanced down at the cover of her book and pulled out his own sheet of questions, all answered in his characteristically cramped script. She leaned towards him, attempting to read the paragraph beneath question seven. He jerked it out of her view and shoved it into his binder.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, reaching for his arm. "Just let me see what you wrote, please?"

"Just think about what it's asking," He sighed, as if she were some petulant child.

"That is not helpful at all, that is the stupidest answer ever." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. He rolled his eyes (she couldn't help but notice an imperceptible smile making its way across his face).

"Think about what John is, where he's come from, who raised him." He steepled his long fingers and Jessica caught herself getting distracted by the slender digits.

"The savages raised him."

"No they didn't." Jessica's brows furrowed as she began to bite her lip again. God she felt dumb, if he could understand some high school level book than she could too.

"His mother?" He shook his head and turned away, beginning to pack his bag. "Let me know if you figure it out."

* * *

><p>Jessica sat with her friends, mulling over what Jack had said. What had he meant by who raised him? The boy had lived with savages his entire life while his mother lay in bed, drinking the intoxicating Mezcal.<p>

"You there Jess?" Nicole laughed, waving a hand in front of her friend's face. "You've been sitting all spare just staring into the distance."

"No no, just thinking about something for English." She ignored the theatrical gasps that circulated the table. It was true though, she'd wasted the entire free period internally grousing about Jack's cryptic question. If only she had any inkling of what he had been talking about. She had gone over their conversation a million times, still unable to see what he had been trying to get at.

"At least you aren't in advanced English," Lisa groaned, reaching into her bag. "Look, this is what I've been studying for the past two weeks." She dropped Othello and Hamlet onto the table which elicited a chorus of moans and muttering. Jessica's eye lit up as she jumped from her seat. The girls at the table exchanged bewildered looks as she slung her purse over her chest and began to move away from the table. "Jess?" Leah asked, completely puzzled at the girls outburst.

"I'll be right back!" She called over her shoulder as she ran from the library. Hopping down the tiled cement stairs and bursting through the parking lot doors she made a bee line towards where he was certain to be. They had spare the same period and he was always in the same place outside of class. She squeezed through the narrow gap in the chain link fence, yanking her pony tail through as an afterthought. She could make out the bright red hoody behind the same tree as always and began to grin as she jogged towards him.

"Jack!" She shouted, practically overcome with joy. His head perked up and landed on her approaching form. She stopped at his feet and braced herself against her knees, panting and massaging a cramp from her side. "Yes?" He said cautiously, peering at her in bewilderment.

"I know what it means!" His expression grew even more confused.

"I mean that I know who raised John!" She clarified, grinning spectacularly at the boy. Jack sat back, his mouth forming a small 'O' as he motioned for her to continue.

"The books, he grew up on Shakespeare's plays and poems. It's why he doesn't fit in anywhere, because he can't function in a world different from Shakespeare's. " It all came tumbling out in excitement as she sat heavily beside him, content and smug.

He nodded pensively as she turned towards him, awaiting his response.

"Which means his character type is?"

"Shakespearian, which is why he committed suicide." She said slowly, watching his reaction.

"Good, there you go. Now did you really need to come all the way out here to tell me that? From now on don't bug me outside of class." He suddenly seemed irritated at her interruption, despite the fact that he didn't appear to actually be doing anything. Jessica instantly felt extremely put out, she sat feeling hurt and angered by his callous dismissal.

"You told me to let you know when I figured it out, so I did. No need to be such a jerk." She snapped, rearranging her purse on her shoulder and jumping up from the hot earth. She brushed the dry blades of grass from her jeans and tried to keep her face composed.

"Jerk?" He snorted. "You're calling me a jerk, I didn't know you knew anything but obscene insults." She turned towards the school and marched off, eyes stinging. She rubbed the offending orbs and stomped her way through the opening in the mesh fence, not bothering to pull her bobbing hair through it again and was rewarded with harsh tugs as sparse hairs were ripped from her scalp. She felt completely ludicrous, almost crying and storming off after what some stupid boy had said. It hadn't even been particularly mean, but what Jack didn't understand was how important that moment was to her. Years of struggling through classes, staying up for hours equipped with a dictionary and thesaurus while she wrote pages of essays, only to be rewarded with a D. She had read dozens of books and had barely been able to understand what everyone around her seemed to have a firm grasp on. It was frustrating and humiliating, for years she had felt like an utter idiot. Until today, today she had been able to understand subtlety and symbolism for the first time. She had been articulate and thoughtful, for a few short moments she had also been proud. But Jack had made the accomplishment dumb and cheap, he had burst her bubble.

She yanked open the heavy doors and walked in a random direction, too full of self-pity to return to her friends.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! So heres a new chappie, it's a bit short (as are all of my updates) and a bit rushed so sorry if it reads a bit choppy. I appreciate any and all reviews and boundless, endless love goes out to all those who have favourited or set alerts.**

Part of her had expected Jack to apologize, maybe at least acknowledge her hurt feelings but no such luck. Two weeks passed and the two had barely spoken a word beyond 'hello' or 'what time is it'. Some afternoons she would sit, tapping her pencil and watching the swirling dust motes, wishing he would just-_ just what exactly_? Just be nice? Jessica unconsciously shook her head at the thought, Jack Napier wasn't_ nice_, and he had never shown any desire to be nice. The entirety of two months that they'd known each other contained enough biting remarks and hard looks to illustrate the fact that he was light years away from kind. Most people would shake it off, accepting his nature and thinking themselves foolish for wanting him to be any different, but not Jessica. She sat in an angry daze, unable to understand why he couldn't provide her with what any decent human being was entitled to. But maybe he wasn't decent, or human for that matter.

"Jessica dear, Uncle Dan just asked you a question." Head snapping up at the sound of her mother's voice, Jessica realized the hunched man across the table was staring at her, clearly waiting for an answer to a question she hadn't heard. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you were taking Calculus this semester." He said dryly, taking a swig from a bottle of coke. Jessica shook her head fervently, digging into a bowl of ice cream.

"I'm awful at Trig and logs, no way am I ever taking calc." She answered thickly, mouth full of half melted rocky road. She surveyed her burly uncle from across the table while he flipped open a magazine, her eyes caught on a freshly polished star pinned to his breast pocket. An idea occurred to her.

"That's a shame my dear, you are quite a smart girl." He was almost completely engrossed in the glossy print, his words coming out and slow and thick.

"Uncle Dan," She began cautiously, dragging his eyes away from the latest released Ferrari. "Yeah kiddo?"

"Well I was just wondering if you knew anything about this kid I go to school with…Jack Napier?" Her face flushed involuntarily as she stabbed at the once perfect globe of dessert, an alarming pull of embarrassment sweeping through her.

"Napier? The name doesn't ring a bell. Did he do anything?" His tone was one of urgency and she suddenly felt horrified at the insinuation.

"No!" She squeaked, warmth rushing her cheeks. He watched her for a second more before turning back to the article spread on the table before him.

Jessica jumped up from her plush chair and headed towards the sink; she rinsed out the half-finished ice cream and set the bowl on the counter. She was about to rush back to her room when he snagged her arm. She gave an involuntary jerk before quickly turning back to her uniformed relative. His eyes were slightly distant as he sat in deep thought. "Napier did you say?"

Jessica nodded, watching her uncle curiously. Whatever he said next would unveil all the secrets Jack kept masked, would allow her a glimpse into the incredibly mysterious boy from English.

"Oh yes now I remember, his mom left when he was little. His grandfather took out a missing persons but we all knew she skipped town." He released her arm and reached for another swig of pop. Jessica's brows furrowed, an absentee mom? That didn't really mean anything; there were plenty of kids who grew up motherless and didn't border on mentally disturbed.

"What about his dad?" She questioned, stepping back in front of him.

"Tom Napier? Haven't heard any noise from him, quiet guy, mainly keeps to himself. But there is a chance…" He trailed off, looking disturbed. Jessica leaned forward slightly, suddenly intrigued.

"There's a chance of what?" She nodded along with her words, hoping this was the insight she was looking for. Dan sat back, crossing beefy arms over his barrel chest. He looked up at her pensively, carefully considering his next words.

"Well there was a new study I read about the other day and I should probably tell you since you go to school with him anyways… The study said something about being raised without a mother increases the likely hood of becoming a sociopath." Her eyebrows knit together yet again as she pulled away.

"Uncle Dan that doesn't make any sense, lots of kids grow up with just their dads and end up perfectly normal."

"Yes I know," He replied slowly, rubbing his palm across thick five o'clock shadow. "But Jack's mother wasn't one hundred percent there." He made a show of tapping his head.

"She just seemed a little emotionless, a bit cold. I wouldn't have noticed it if I wasn't in the force, but now that I think of it she struck me as a little cruel." He finished, watching his niece through guarded eyes.

"You'd have to be to leave your baby behind." Jessica scoffed, turning back towards her room. "Thanks for letting me know Uncle Dan!"

She hurried into her room, closely the door quietly behind her. Thoughts raced across her frontal lobe, each screaming for her full attention. Did it make sense? Could Jack be completely void of emotions? No no not all emotions, sociopaths still felt anger, sadness, joy, no empathy however. It would mean he wouldn't notice or care when someone was upset, it would mean he was incapable of feeling love. It would mean he hadn't realized how much he'd hurt her feelings two weeks ago. Something deep inside snapped at this thought and she suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to cry. But why? Why did she care? Maybe it was the realization that if what her uncle had said were true, undeniably inconsolably true, then Jack could never feel anything more than casual indifference for her. He could never want her or love her. Just like that, the tears came.

Later as she lay beneath mountains of fluffy duvets, sniffling pathetically, a sudden realization came. Her uncle was no profiler; he wasn't even formally trained in detecting socio or psychopaths. Despite having worked long hours in the cruel streets of Gotham, she was sure he had no more knowledge than any common citizen. Uncle Dan was wrong Jessica decided, nodding solemnly to herself. There was no evidence that her classmate was anything but normal. A bright ball of hope burned deep within her chest, she rubbed her hand across her rib cage almost as if to stifle the heat. Maybe he felt something for her akin to her inclinations towards him; maybe Jack Napier could hold more than just slight interest in Jessica Moore.


	5. Chapter 5

Jessica tugged at the small shoots of grass, pressing her fingers right where the hard dirt met willowy blade. She examined the long tuberous root, after she had pulled the grass from its confines, before biting off the white end, chewing the tasteless root till it became pulp.

"Hungry?" Jack inquired, peering at her curiously. She just shrugged before plucking more blades, tossing some over her shoulder as she went.

"Not really, it's just something I do when I'm bored." Although this wasn't entirely true, Jessica was far from bored. Her proximity to Jack was making her jittery and restless. She pressed green stained palms to her bare lower thighs before leaning back on her elbows, tilting a cheek towards the impervious sun's rays.

"Write about your feelings guys! What do you see? What do you hear? What does the sun make you think of?" Mr. Howard's thin voice managed to find them now. They lay at the base of a gentle hill, feet pressing against the thin chain link fence. Jack had invited her to his spot, well near his spot; in order to avoid the pervasive gave of their teacher. She assumed this was his two month late apology for hurting her feelings, and even though it was hardly a proper apology, she felt inclined to forgive him. She lay back against the cool earth, rolling up her cotton sleeves slightly. "Might as well tan." She sighed, closing her eyes against the intense sky.

Despite her contempt towards the bumbling instructor, Howard's words got her thinking. What _was_ she feeling? Well she felt like a jumble of nerves at the moment, just the proximity to him was killing her. How long had it been since she'd spoke to him for the first time? It was hard to remember and almost irrelevant. He only existed within the confines of their English class. Her whole day was spent in sweet anticipation, eagerly awaiting the hour and thirty minutes she would spend, elbow to elbow with her crush. Disappointment, thick as syrup and just as cloying, would settle through her when the period bell sounded and she had to rise from her desk, each time having accomplished nothing more than a few sideways glances. As soon as she exited the door she was someone else, playing a different part in a world he had no place in. She resigned herself to the friends she loved, to the boy she adored. Connor, she considered him now and before she could quell the traitorous thought, realized he was just a consolation prize. A way to soothe the desperate sadness created by the boy beside her.

What did she hear? Well even if she was making an attempt to write today, she never would have scribbled notes on something so irrelevant. All she could hear now that she considered it was the gentle scraping of Jack's pencil against the notebook propped against his knees. Even though her eyes were tightly closed, she knew he would be bent over the sheet of paper, cramped script sprawling across the page. Her brow furrowed as she considered what he could be writing about, what he was feeling. Now he had stopped writing and she could hear his slow breaths. She pressed the back of her hand against her tightly shut lids, risking a glance towards him. He sat, black faded T-shirt clinging to his thin frame deliciously. His jeans were ragged and poorly patched, looking as if they were worn almost to the seams. But it wasn't his worse for wear outfit that had her transfixed; it was where he was looking. His eyes were on her, slowly roaming across her out stretched body. His gaze wasn't leering or even embarrassing, it was something so private so personal that she felt as if she were intruding just by observing him. His teeth worried his plump bottom lip, brow knitted above his eyes. His eyes were boring into her every pore with an almost heart breaking vulnerability. It was as if he wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch her calf, any part of her really. Something was stopping him, the same something that stopped her from interrupting his moment, from maybe leaning forward a bit too close. He stretched a hand towards her shin and she froze, completely forgetting how to breathe or even process rational thought. Just a bit further and his fingertips would be against her calf, she thanked whoever happened to be above the clouds that she had shaved her legs that morning. His grasp fell short of her flesh and landed on a blade of grass that was flush against her leg. He gently extracted it before examining the plump root. He bit it off with some trepidation before turning back to his work. Jessica nearly swore aloud, her whole body tingled at his previous proximity and the almost callous rejection she had observed crashed upon her in a heavy wave. She sat up, suddenly unable to sprawl any longer.

"Why don't you do some work?" Jack mumbled, almost harshly as she picked the dried glass sprouts from her blouse.

"Why do work when you can do it for both of us." She replied dryly, she sat up on her knees and leaned over his shoulder, attempting to see what he had been pouring onto the paper. His hand shot up to obstruct her view but not before she caught sight of something disturbing.

"Orange juice? Saw dust?" He had been writing ingredients to something and even now the only words she'd caught sight of were disturbingly familiar. Jack closed the worn notebook and shot her an irritated look from over his shoulder. She sat back on her glutes, eyes slightly unfocussed. Where had she heard that combination before? Each ingredient on it's own completely benign but combined...what exactly were they combined?

"Didn't your mother ever teach you it's rude to pry?" He spat, slipping his graphite into his back pocket.

"Jack…Orange juice and sawdust…that's the ingredients to make a bomb." She said slowly, some obscure page from anarchist's handbook swam into her mind's eye. Jack shrugged, completely nonchalant.

"No not to make a bomb, in theory they are supposed to make nitroglycerin but it's totaly bullshit."

"Why are you writing down instructions for making a bomb?" She asked quietly, peering at him through guarded eyes.

"Shut up Jessica." He growled, folding his arms across his chest and staring straight ahead. "Who even cares, orange juice saw dust, piss and Listerine. It's easy to make anything people are scared of."

This was it; this was the part of him that wasn't allowed to exist. This was terrifying Jack, the Jack who wouldn't care if she was blown apart. This was the Jack who might come to school with a gun; she became furious at the thought.

She shoved his shoulder, hard. He fell to the side, rolling slightly before hitting the fence. He jumped up, puce in the face and sputtering.

"You bitch." His tone was savage he strode towards her, grabbing her wrists and hauling her up. His longer digits wrapped tightly around her hands but other than that he made no other contact with her prone form. His eyes were black, ablaze with anger. "You ask these stupid questions and I'm sick of it, don't ever touch me again."

"Stop being such a freak Jack, you're not gonna blow up the school, you'll never do anything. So stop being such an impious asshole." She hissed, not wanting to elicit the attention of Mr. Howard's. Jack stilled, hands no longer crushing her small fists, his anger seemed to be quickly replaced with amusement.

"Impious? Jess that's a big word but do you know what it means?" He was taunting her, but instead of her typical reaction, boundless fury, she felt her lips forming a slight smile.

"No," She began slowly. "But it sounded bad and it was the only thing I could think of." Jack laughed, legitimately laughed. Her eyes flickered to the column of his throat, to his bobbing Adam's apple. His eyes glittered as he slowly released her wrists.

"We always seem to be at each other's throats." She mused, rubbing her tingling hands. The unsettling discovery she'd made only moments ago had fled to the back of her mind as soon as his pamls made contact with her knuckles.

"That's because you're a brat." He said shortly, not showing any signs of stepping away from her. She certainly felt spoiled, he was still smiling.

"Yeah well when you're someone like me, no one talks to you the way you do." She sniffed, poking his chest.

He batted her hand away before snorting and simply saying, "Cocky too." She grinned brightly up at him, counting the small freckles adorning the narrow bridge of his nose.

"You know if your boyfriend walked by he could get the wrong impression." His tone had dropped an octave and the light smile had vanished. Jessica flushed, her neck and cheeks colouring instantly at the insinuation.

"What impression would that be?" She asked breathily, grimacing inwardly at the harpy quality her voice had taken. Jack just shrugged, eyes still on hers. She realized he was waiting for her to answer the unspoken question.

"Connor isn't my boyfriend." She said carefully. "He never will be."

He turned away, apparently satisfied with her answer. He took a step back and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Zach on the other hand…" She began, smirking as he gave her a sharp look. "I'm just kidding Jack, chill." He rubbed his jaw and peered at her, as though he were carefully choosing what to say next.

"Well I mean I just wondered after what I heard Connor saying in the locker room." Jessica went stock still, no _no no_. Her heart began to hammer in her chest. Please don't let him know about last month.

"What did he say?" She whispered, rubbing her clammy palms against her denim shorts.

"Something about 'going bare back' I mean I just assumed you two must be dating." Jack was yet again flaunting his cruelty. The surrender of her virginity had been a mortifying and drunken affair, something she had desperately attempted to forget. No part of her blamed Connor, it wasn't his fault that the experience had been so painful and at the time she had really truly wanted to just 'get it over with'. Jack walked back to where his notebook sat and scooped it up, refusing to look at her.

"You're such a liar; Connor would never talk to you." She didn't even care how juvenile she sounded at the moment. Jack turned back to her, condescending eyebrow already raised.

"Maybe not but sometimes you overhear conversations; sometimes everyone in such a small room overhears a certain conversation." So embarrassing, the thought of every senior boy hearing about what they'd done, what she'd said, was too much. She turned her face away from him, her throat suddenly feeling unbearably thick. She gasped and gripped at her collar bones, her breath ragged and moist. She now turned back towards the fence, covering her mouth as fat tears streaked down her cheeks. Maybe it wasn't the fact that everyone knew, maybe it was that Jack knew, that he thought she was a slut. The thought that she repulsed him tore a ragged sob from her heaving chest.

"Jessica I was just kidding." Jack said slowly, apparently rooted to the spot by her abrasive show of emotion. She scrubbed her damp cheeks with her palms before turning back to him, eyes downcast.

"Did he force you?" His tone was all venom, for a moment she considered saying yes; really stick it to him for embarrassing her. The guilt of lying about something so terrible forced her head to give a quick shake 'no' however.

It was so unfair, every single good moment was ruined by his inability to be kind. Not just kind, normal. She felt so silly, bursting into tears before him like the hormonal girl she was. Saner minds would have turned away at this point but Jessica would not be deterred. She realized at that moment that her affection towards him was so great that even this current humiliation did nothing to shake her resolve.

"Sorry, I'm being dumb." She said in a rush, granting him a sheepish smile. Surely it should have been a beginning but all it felt like was an end.

* * *

><p>Apparently I have an inability to write very long chapters meaning all this important stuff gets squished together. Anyways I just wanted to mention one thing, I've seen a lot of stories on here that deal with the Joker becoming who he is as the result of one person alone, typically a woman and always before his scars. I think a person is a compilation of experiences and one teenage girl wouldn't be enough to do anything more than catch his brief attention, so don't expect any tenderness or particular kindness from my interpretation of the maniac. Also don't expect Jessica to be a character to cheer for.<p> 


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